From Cairo

Welll... where to begin. We have been here five days and so much has been seen and done. Firstly we installed Across Australia for opening on 26 January which is the Australian National Day. A large crowd of diplomats and other important people attended the celebration function which also included music by Freshwater and were most enthusiastic about the work. The exhibition stays open until 10 February. I have a limited number of full colour catalogues available for sale ( they are landscape A4 size- with 28 quilts) and they cost $25 AUAS inclusive of postage from Egypt- you can pay me via Paypla or if in Australia by cheque or postal order.

We have been to the tentmakers souk briefly ( they attended the opening and were most complimentary about our textile skills) and yesterday saw the Saqqara(stepped) pyramid and the pyramids of Dashur- the Bent pyramid and Red pyramid.We also visited the Wissa Wassef Arts centre which was fascinating - with a very interesting project to train children a couple of decades ago, without resorting to designs or drawings- but to just teach the technique and let the imaginations reign. All the children are now adults and still create tapestries at the centre ( in the Gobelin style of creating tapestries- ie on warp looms) which are just pure delight full of whimsy and improvisation. All the wools used are dyed from the garden of the centre.Today we visited a small portion of Khan el Khalili- and in particular beads and silver- and findings. Treasure!